Challenging the “Ever Closer Union”: Political Consequences of the Eurozone Crisis

After several years of crisis management to avoid an immediate fallout from the sovereign debt crisis in the European Union (EU), financial markets have calmed, but economic recovery in indebted Eurozone countries has been slow. Europe has introduced institutional changes to guard against future shocks, but no doubt the repercussions of the Eurozone crisis will be long lasting for the European project as well as for the future of transatlantic relations. The vested interests of European actors make a breakup of the Eurozone highly unlikely. From 2007 to the present, five countries have joined the Eurozone and several EU countries are in the process of acceding. Yet, the model of the “ever closer union,” which has served the peace and security interests of the European continent well, faces serious political challenges. The new European trajectory is moving toward an emerging hegemonic power, Germany; moreover, the EU is now characterized by growing rifts between countries.